Renewed Museum of Fine Arts can be visited from 2018 on – PHOTOS

The Roman Hall of the Szépművészeti Múzeum (Museum of Fine Arts) will be completed soon, according to PestBuda.hu.

By the end of the year, the renewal of the Roman Hall in Museum of Fine Arts will be finished with its new exhibition and public spaces. After a long and detailed reconstruction, the gates of Szépművészeti will open in the autumn of 2018.

MTI Photo: Bea Kallos

The last time the Roman Hall could be seen in its true form was at the beginning of the 1940s. Unfortunately, the relic was severely damaged during World War II, and it was later closed as well. As director of Museum of Fine Arts László Baán stated, 70 restorers were working to restore the murals in the huge chamber of 900 square meters. 1500 liters of preservatives were used during the process along with five and a half kilos of gold leaves.

Chief restorer András Seress told MTI that there is only one spot left where the painting is absent, a small area under the ledge. Chief engineer Antal Kőszegi added that, before they begin to restore that part of the wall, the mosaic floor will be laid and the thermal insulator windows will be replaced. The shading devices and the sun collectors will also be installed prior to the painting.

László Baán noted that Liget Budapest project does not only affect the Roman Hall, as the exhibition spaces of the museum will also be extended. The Michelangelo room, the Renaissance area of the museum was built using steel beams. Now this room will be reconstructed, and the exhibition spaces on the second floor and the basement will be extended.

MTI Photo: Bea Kallos

The renewal affects 14,000 square meters. It is approximately the 40 percent of the total area of the museum. But not only the exhibitions will be renewed from the almost 32.5 million euros of investment: the heating will be improved, the accessibility will be further developed, and part of the exhibition areas will be air-conditioned. Moreover, new exhibition and public areas will be constructed, as well as modern restore workshops and repositories. There will be 500 square meters more room for the works of art. They did not forget about serving the guests: a restaurant will be opened in the former place of the Egyptian collection, and the capacity of cloakrooms will also be increased. They are planning to place more emphasis on museum pedagogy.

MTI Photo: Bea Kallos

As the director hinted, the Roman Hall will be revealed in the spring of 2018, a couple of months before the reopening of the museum. The renewed building will host a new permanent exhibition of the Museum of Fine Arts and the Hungarian National Gallery, a collection from before the 19th century. László Baán also mentioned that a Leonardo exhibition is planned in the beginning of 2019, as well as a Rubens and Flemish Baroque exhibition during the autumn of 2019.